News & Views

Cannes Lions / Titanium and Integrated Winners

Jurors set the agenda by awarding humanistic, empathetic work that puts customers first and shows them some respect

Two of the week's big winners continued their run at the 2013 Cannes Lions, as Metro Train's Dumb Ways To Die, via McCann, Melbourne, scooped Integrated Grand Prix and Dove's Real Beauty Sketches, through Ogilvy, Sao Paulo, clinched the Titanium Grand Prix alongside an Integrated Gold.

A stellar jury, assembled in recognition of the the festival's 60th anniversary, was chaired by Wieden and Kennedy co-Founder, Dan Wieden, who had framed the idea for the Titanium category when it was conceived back in 2003. He took the opportunity to reassert its role: 'It's given in recognition of work that's truly transformational, and offers a new way forward for the industry. Not for the interest of agency or client, but the customers we both serve. That definition helped us to focus.'

Alongside Dove, four other winners landed Titanium Lions: Nike's Find Your Greatness,Samsung Life Insurance's Bridge of Life, via Cheil Worldwide, Seoul, Prudential's The Challenge Lab, from Droga5, New York and the Government of Macedonia's 10 Meters Apart, from Y&R New Moment New Ideas, Skopje.

The jurors were keen to impress that the Titanium winners should be taken as a whole, rather than a set of unconnected ideas. David Lubars, chairman, BBDO explained, 'If you look at all five winners, it's clients trying to do more and give more: it's humanistic.'

Publicis Worldwide creative director Erik Vervroegen added: 'This work is about being respectful to the audience. Ensuring that we are polite, that we're treating them as a customer.'

Whilst a clear theme indeed runs throughout the five winners, Ed Ulbrich, CEO, Digital Domain, was keen to point out it wasn't something the jury set out to reveal, but that as certain entries rose to the top, they chose to 'react to the work, not rationalise the decision'. Vervroegen added that this is work that 'talks to your guts, heart and brain. Most are based on a human truth which is not easy to hit on.'

In Integrated, Dumb Ways To Die was celebrated for its exceptional craft across each touchpoint and, like the Titanium winners, its empathy. 'A simple reductionist idea unites it all,' said Lubars. 'It shows love and respect for the audience.'

Other integrated winners included Proctor and Gamble's Proud Sponsor of Moms, via Wieden and Kennedy, New York which was awarded a Gold Lion and Axe's Susan Glenn from BBH New York, which took a Silver Lion.

Speaking about the category, Susan Credle, Leo Burnett's CCO, explained how the jury sees Integrated work evolving: 'It's moving from integration to collaboration,' she said. 'When you start with a brief or platform idea that is human, it gives people a place to collaborate. It's moving from tweeting or talking about the campaign, to truly co-creating.'

Wrapping up the winners press conference, the topic of technology came up. What could be learnt from few tech-focused examples amongst the winners, in comparison to last year's dominance of Nike FuelBand? It was clear that the jury had sought ideas first and foremost.

Dan Wieden summed things up: 'At the end of the day, why does it stay in your mind, haunt you, make you do something you weren't prepared to do, think things you weren't prepared to think? There's no cookbook for at kind of work. No boxes to check. It just happens.'